
                              TO CATCH A SWEDE

                               By JOAN RAMSAY
                                Southam News

     OTTAWA - It all started with an imaginary 60-year-old Swede.

     You know, the one who, 20 years ago, was said to be in better shape
     than the average 30-year-old Canadian.

     That was ParticipAction's way to try to humiliate Canadians into
     swimming -walking-jogging-skiing to longer, healthier lives.

     And as researchers increasingly tied lifestyle to disease and
     premature death, people were urged to Break Free (of cigarettes).
     Play It Smart (by driving sober). Just Say No (to drugs). Buckle Up
     and Live. Eat Healthy.

     As well, grassroots pressure groups sprang up; anti-smoking laws
     were passed; drunk driving penalties were strengthened; seatbelts
     became standard equipment, now being supplemented by airbags;
     sugar, cholesterol and fat became the alimental enemy.

     And it worked.

     Canadians are generally living longer - and better - than ever.

     From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, average life expectancy rose
     almost three years for men, to 73 years, and over two years for
     women, to 79.7 years. That brought Canadians to within a year of
     their average Swedish counterpart's life expectancy - 73.9 for men,
     79.9 for women.

     While the numbers vary little from province to province now, life
     expectancy continues to be higher in the west than the east. In
     1950-52, Saskatchewanians lived an average four years longer than
     Quebecers. By 1985-87, that gap had closed to about one year.

     In 1987, Saskatchewan had the highest life expectancy for women, at
     80.5 years, and B.C. had the highest rate for men, about 74 years.

     Experts point to several possible reasons, beyond advanced health
     care and technology: Eating patterns have changed, smoking and
     drinking have decreased, people are more active.

     And while much still needs to be done to promote health,
     particularly for the lower income groups, the changes have been
     impressive.

     Heart disease continues to be the biggest killer, with cancer a
     close second. Together they cause more than 60 per cent of deaths
     in Canada.

     But between 1977 and 1987, deaths from cardiovascular disease
     dropped by 28 per cent for men to 209 per 100,000 population, and
     by 24 per cent for women to 138 per 100,000.

     Deaths from liver disease and cirrosis dropped 40 per cent for men
     and 31 per cent for women (to 10 and five per 100,000,
     respectively) and traffic fatalities fell almost 26 per cent for
     men (to 24 per 100,000) and 22 per cent for women (to nine per
     100,000).

     Meanwhile, overall cancer deaths rose by about five per cent over
     the same period for both groups, to 176 per 100,000 men and 131 per
     100,000 women.

     However, lung cancer deaths rose 14 per cent for men (to 57 per
     100,000) and 83 per cent for women (to 22 per 100,000).

     That's because men started smoking in large numbers before women
     did and women are just beginning to show the effects, according to
     a Statistics Canada study in Health Reports, released in March.

     In the '60s, 53 per cent of men over 15 years smoked, compared to
     about 32 per cent of women. But in the 1980s, only 31 per cent of
     men smoked, compared to 26 per cent of women.

     Of all the lifestyle habits linked to premature deaths, smoking has
     come under the most intense pressure. Federal, provincial and
     municipal governments have passed strict smoking control laws and
     tobacco products have become a favorite - and unsympathetic - tax
     target.

     And, in a nutshell, fewer people are smoking and those who do are
     smoking less.

     The percentage of smokers dropped from 45 in 1975 to 31 in 1990,
     according to a federal Health Department report.

     As well, it says, 44 per cent of people who have ever smoked have
     quit and people are generally smoking fewer cigarettes now than
     they did in 1985.

     Smoking continues to be related to socio-economic indicators, like
     education. University graduates are half as likely to smoke as are
     people with high school or less, says the report.

     As well, smoking is generally more common in the east than the
     west.

     In 1989, Newfoundland had the highest prevalence at 36 per cent of
     adults, followed closely by P.E.I. and Quebec at 35 per cent. B.C.
     had the lowest smoking rate - 28 per cent - while the other
     provinces were at or below the 32-per-cent national average.

     On the other hand, alcohol use rises from east to west, with the
     fewest drinkers in P.E.I., at 64 per cent of the population, and
     British Columbia the highest, at 83 per cent, according to
     StatsCan's national alcohol and other drugs survey in 1989.

     However, the heaviest drinking was in Ontario and Quebec, which
     each reported an average 3.9 drinks in the week before the survey,
     followed by 3.8 drinks in B.C.

     Nova Scotia and New Brunswick reported the lowest consumption, at
     2.8 drinks.

     As well, alcohol use increases with income, from 60 per cent of
     those earning $10,000 a year or less, to almost 90 per cent of
     those earning $40,000 and up.

     Seventy-eight per cent of adults used alcohol in the year before
     the poll, with 26 per cent drinking less than once a month and 52
     per cent at least once a month. That's down slightly from 82 per
     cent in 1978-79, with 15 per cent drinking less than once a month
     and 67 per cent drinking more often.
     
     However, the number of people who had quit drinking jumped to 15
     per cent in 1989 from four per cent in 1978-79.

     People who drink regularly are almost twice as likely to have
     accidents as abstainers, according to a StatsCan report in
     February, Accidents in Canada.

     About one in five Canadians, almost four million people, reported
     having at least one accident in 1987, for a total of five million
     incidents, says the report.

     Of those, about 33 per cent were traffic related, 23 per cent were
     sports or leisure related and 21 per cent were work related. About
     one in 10 accidents occurred around the home.

     Fifty-two per cent of all accidents were caused by carelessness or
     unsafe activities, the report adds.

     Accident rates rise from east to west, with B.C. seeing the highest
     rates for all types of incidents, for an average of 440 accidents
     per 1,000 population, compared to 194 in the Atlantic region, 171
     in Quebec, 246 in Ontario and 306 on the Prairies.

     Accidental injuries killed 13,000 people 15 and older in 1987, with
     the highest rates in 15-24 and over-65 groups for both men and
     women, although the rates are higher for men across the board.

     Canadians were more careful in the kitchen, where the buzz-word now
     is free: cholesterol-free, sugar-free, fat-free.

     According to Statistics Canada figures, Canadians eat less red
     meat, butter, refined sugar, eggs and whole milk than 15 years ago
     - all sources of cholesterol and fat, which are linked to heart and
     circulatory diseases.

     Conversely, they eat more fish, vegetables, margarine, cereals,
     yogurt and two-per-cent and skim milk than their counterparts did
     in the mid-1970s.

     Women are more likely than men to improve their diets and inactive
     Canadians are least likely to eat more fruit, vegetables, poultry
     and fish, according to The Well-Being of Canadians report released
     last year.

     However, it adds, Canadians are generally becoming more active,
     with 63 per cent exercising at least once a week.

     Walking was the most common exercise in 1988, at 70-per-cent
     participation, followed by gardening, swimming, cycling, dancing
     and home exercising.

     And 50 per cent of people over 10 years of age feel positive toward
     vigorous activity, with support declining with age.

     All this has been enough to put that 60-year-old Swede in his
     place: next to a 60-year-old Canadian.

     ``We feel that our two countries are quite comparable today,''
     says ParticipAction spokesman Dorothy Jakovina. ``We would say that
     confidently.''

     (With files from Cathy Campbell.)

